ATHLETICS: Julian Drew
BUOYED by the success of 1992, Africa has sent an even stronger team to this weekend’s Athletics World Cup in London in the hope that it can retain the trophy it won in such rousing style in Havana.
On the final day of competition in Cuba two years ago, Africa led the British team by just one point with three events remaining. Then a second place by African team captain Tom Petranoff in the javelin, victory in the 5 000m by Ethiopia’s Fita Bayesa and a stirring 400m relay race which saw Nigeria’s Sunday Bada cross the finish line in first place with the baton held proudly aloft, gave Africa its first ever World Cup victory by a comfortable margin of 12 points.
The World Cup, which is contested bienially by teams representing the five continents of the world plus a United States team and the first two countries from the European cup, features one athlete from each team in all the standard Olympic athletics events except the marathon, walks and multi-events.
Eight points are awarded for a win down to one point for eighth place. This time out the African cause is bolstere by the addition of such heavyweights as world 20m champion Frank Fredericks of Namibia, 1 500m world record holder Noureddine Morcelli of Algeria and 3 000m steeplechase world record holder Moses Kiptanui of Kenya.
This weekend, however, the African team is likely to find things a lot tougher than in Cuba where a long, hard season centred on the Olympic Games saw most of the teams bereft of their best athletes. In fact, so weak was the traditionally powerful United States squad that it finished in only fifith position. this year the Americans and top athletes like Morcelli and Mozambique’s Maria Mutola have not had any big competitions such as the European Championships and Commonwealth Games to aim for, and the World Cup will provide a welcome stage to show their worth outside the Grand Prix circuit.
South Africa has a stronger representation in London than in 1992 when the country’s athletes were first allowed to join their northern neighbours in the African team.
In cuba there were just two South Africans in each of the men’s and women’s teams, but Africa’s weakness in the field events has seen our contingent increase to three men and seven women who will don the black and orange colours of Africa.